Racuchy, racuchy!

   Well, I could translate the name of this dish and call it "Polish apple pancakes", but there is not as much charm and homeyness to it as it is in "Racuchy". Besides wouldn't you rather tell your friends that you just made a huge batch of racuchy (well, if you can pronounce it)? Everybody would be so jealous hearing that, thinking that you probably just had a super sophisticated and cosmopolitan dish (hey, they don't have to know it's "just" pancakes!). I remember my Mom making tons of them for our meatless dinners and they would disappear right away. If you wanted it fresh and hot you would have to stand next to her and just snatch them from her hand when she was taking them out of the pan! Otherwise they were GONE! Traditional racuchy have apples in them, but I mix it up a little bit and also add pears. So what you need is:

*  1 apple (very thinly sliced)
*  1 pear (thinly sliced as well)
*  1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
*  2 cups fat-free milk
*  2 eggs
*  1/4 cup sugar
*  2 tsp vanilla extract
*  1/2 tsp baking powder
*  oil

   Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla extract together. Stir in flour, baking powder, orange zest, and sugar and mix everything together adding apples and pears at the very end. You can add more flour or milk to adjust the density of the batter so it's not too runny or too dense. Heat the oil in a pan, then using a big spoon form small pancakes and fry them for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Transfer them onto a paper towel for a couple of minutes (to drain the excess oil) and serve immediately with a glass of cold milk!

   You can make them as thin or thick as you like. We like ours not to thick so they get a little bit crunchy on the edges, while still super soft in the middle. It might be the simple dish for all of you, but for me it's a childhood memory. Every time I eat them I feel like I'm back at my Mom's kitchen waiting for her to finish another batch!

Smacznego.
Magda